Sense of Belonging - A Hidan Oneshot
by rizanicole
Summary: Just a random one shot I wrote for fun a long time ago, rated M for Hidan's mouth. It's my personal favorite of my Naruto one shots, so I hope you like it! Please rate/message if you get the chance! :) **Originally published on Quizilla 12/23/2012**


I took a deep, shuddering breath as I stared at the door in front of me. This was it. The moment when I would finally discover whether or not all my efforts had paid off. Years of training, working, practicing, and it all came down to this.

I finally gathered my resolve and pushed the door open, stepping into the small office. A single man sat behind a desk, his face hidden in shadows. I'd never seen his face, and had a feeling I probably never would. He picked up an envelope with my number on it and handed it to me, not speaking a word. I gave a small bow, and then turned and left the office.

As I walked back outside and into the forest, I hoped desperately that the letter would say 'yes.' I'd applied to join an elite criminal group called the Path of Light. They were well-respected in the criminal world; so well-respected, in fact, that one had to try out to become a member. Considering that my parents had been thieves, and they raised me to be the same way, I'd been a part of the criminal world all my life. I never thought much about whether taking from others was right or wrong, because to us, it was just a lifestyle.

My criminal skills had evolved from there to more complex and dangerous jobs - I'd be lying if I said I didn't have blood on my hands. Anyways, all my work for the past few years had been aimed at getting myself a spot in the Path of Light. I trained as hard and as often as I could, pushing myself to the absolute limit in the hopes of becoming stronger. A month ago, I'd officially tried out, and now, I held their leader's decision in my hands.

I finally stopped walking once I was out of sight of the building. I turned the envelope over in my hands several times before working up the courage to open it. I took out the neatly folded sheet of paper, unfolded it, and began to read.

 _Applicant 314,_

 _We appreciate your skills and your interest in the Path of Light. However, due to the limited number of available positions, we are sorry to say that we will not be offering you membership in our organization._

 _-Path of Light Review Board_

I stared at the sheet, hardly comprehending the meaning of the words. I reread the short message four times before it finally sunk in: they didn't want me. I wasn't good enough. All of my work had ultimately led to nothing.

I crumpled up the envelope and paper and shoved them in my pocket. I turned and ran, wanting to get as far away from the Path of Light's application headquarters as possible. I was able to run quite a distance, having spent lots of time building up my stamina, but eventually had to stop when I noticed tears streaming down my face. It was funny - I could kill and feel absolutely nothing, but when my own goals were disrupted, it was apparently enough to make me cry.

I sat down on the ground against a tree in the forest, pulling my knees up to my chest and trying to become very small. In a word, I was crushed. I'd done everything within my power to become part of the group, but it just wasn't enough.

I wiped a few tears from my eyes as I breathed heavily, tired out from running. I lowered my head into my hands and continued to cry, not really caring about looking strong at the moment.

I was so wrapped up in my own mind - and my own sobs were loud enough - that I didn't hear the two pairs of footsteps coming towards me until their owners were quite close.

Lifting my head out of my hands suddenly, I gazed at the two men standing about ten yards away from me. I'd been hunted by enemy ninja before, but based on these guys' surprised expressions, I didn't think they were looking for me.

Nevertheless, I quickly got on my feet and hastily entered into a defensive position, preparing for combat. I tried to look fierce, but with my tearstained face, I doubt I was pulling off 'threatening' very well.

My suspicions were confirmed when the white-haired, shorter man laughed at me. "Who the hell are you kidding, sweetheart? You couldn't fucking hurt us if you tried."

I glared at him, but lowered my arms slightly, knowing he was probably right. "Who are you?" asked the taller of the two, who was wearing a mask, in an emotionless voice.

"That's none of your business," I spat angrily. The white-haired man laughed at me again, and shared a knowing, arrogant look with his partner. "Well, you don't seem to be much of a damn threat, but you're coming back with us anyways, just to make sure."

I prepared to bolt, realizing I was probably about to be captured, when I was suddenly immobilized. I looked down to see that the masked man had shot strange ropes out from his body, which wrapped around my limbs, and just like that, I was caught. He pulled me towards him while I struggled to escape. "This will probably be easier if you can't fight back," he said, before raising his arm. I felt a blow to the side of my head just before losing consciousness.

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that my head was hurting like something awful. I was a bit disoriented, but after a moment, I remembered what had happened. I took in my surroundings and noticed that I was slumped in a chair in an otherwise empty room. To my surprise, I wasn't handcuffed or restrained in any way. Either these people were very confident in their security, or they were very stupid. Possibly both.

"About time you woke up," a deep voice said from the corner of the room. I turned my head in time to see a man with many facial piercings step out of a shadow. I made a move to stand, but then thought better of it. This man seemed powerful.

"Smart girl," he said when he noticed my hesitation. "There's no way you're getting out of here." I glared at him, and he took a step closer to me. "My idiot subordinates may not have known who you are, but I'd recognize you anywhere, Tara Hamada."

I froze up. How did this man know my name? "How do you know who I am?" I asked, voicing my thoughts. He chuckled darkly. "You've made quite a reputation for yourself among the missing-nin, Tara. But I always wondered," he took another step closer to me, "why you'd made no move to join an organization."

"That isn't any of your concern," I said, feeling a pang of sadness as I remembered my recent rejection.

"Well, actually, it is," the man said. "I was quite... displeased, when I found out you were trying to join the Path of Light. I think you'd fare much better in my organization."

I flinched. Who was this man, and how did he know what I'd been doing? How much power did he have? "Who are you?" I asked, fear beginning to set in.

"To you, I am simply 'Leader.' My organization is the Akatsuki."

I blinked, surprised. What were the odds that I'd end up being captured by one evil group the same day I was rejected from another? I recognized the name Akatsuki at once, and they were well-known, yes, but not so 'prestigious' as the Path of Light, and I'd certainly never had a desire to join them.

I stood up in defiance, feeling hatred for this man who believed he had power over me. "I'll never join your organization!" I said angrily.

He looked unconcerned. "You will. And I know you'll warm up to it before too long." He turned away from me and took a few steps towards the door he'd been standing in front of when I woke up. "Oh, I almost forgot," he said, turning his head back to look at me. "Since they found you, you'll be joining Hidan and Kakuzu's team for the time being. At least until you get used to this place."

And with that, he exited the room, and I heard a small 'click' as the door was locked from the other side.

The two men who'd captured me showed up in the room about thirty minutes later. "Long time no see, sweetheart," the white-haired one said with a smirk, stretching his arms above his head. His partner ignored him. "Tara, you're going to be rooming with us for now," the masked ninja said. "Come on."

The two beckoned for me to follow them and I did, having little choice in the matter. They led me down a long hallway to the room they shared. I assumed, at this point, that I was in the Akatsuki hideout, as we passed several others clothed in the infamous black and red robes along the way.

When we got to the small room, I noticed that there were two single beds on either side and a pallet of blankets on the floor in between them. It wouldn't have taken a genius to figure out which one was going to be mine.

I sighed and obeyed when the tall one told me to sit down on the pallet, and he and his partner sat side by side on one of the beds, facing me. For a moment, no one said anything. But eventually, the loud-mouthed, white-haired man broke the silence.

"Alright, in case you hadn't fucking figured it out yet, I'm Hidan and that's Kakuzu," he said, pointing a thumb at his partner. "And according to Leader, you're on our team now. He's gonna make us take you along on missions, and to make sure you don't get in our damn way, we're gonna need to see how you fight."

I glared at him. "And what if I refuse?" These people could keep me here against my will without much trouble, but forcing me to fight would be another matter entirely. The masked man, whose name was apparently Kakuzu, extended his ropes slightly in a threatening manner. "Trust me, girl, defying Leader isn't something you want to do. It'll be better for all of us if you just go along with it, okay?"

I glared at the pair of them for another minute before reluctantly nodding. I'd play their little games for a while, but as soon as I got the chance, I planned to try to escape.

Hidan and Kakuzu stood up, telling me once again to come with them. I followed the pair down another hallway and through a large room, and we soon made it back to the outside world. Once in the forest, they led me to a clearing near the Akatsuki base.

I just stood there in the clearing, staring at the two of them, while I waited for one of them to say something. It was silent for a moment, before Hidan got impatient. "Well, don't just stand there like a moron! Show us what you've got!" he said testily.

I was frustrated by his attitude, but did as he said. I began performing my nin- and taijutsus for these two, trying to gauge their reactions. Considering that I'd spent the past few years trying to get stronger so I could join the Path of Light, all of my techniques were in good shape, as I'd had no time to become careless or lazy. After a while, once my chakra levels had gotten low, I stopped, panting slightly as I stared at the two of them, waiting for a response.

Kakuzu grunted. "You're better than I'd expected, but you still need to be better if you're gonna come with us. We'll have to get some training in before the mission next week." He turned and began walking towards the base. "For now, it's getting late. Let's go to sleep."

Normally, I would've been offended by Kakuzu's words, but I was so tired at the moment that I simply couldn't bring myself to care. Hidan and I followed him back to the base and to 'our' room. I laid down on the pallet, exhausted. Seeing that I had laid down on top of the blankets with no sort of covering, Hidan tossed me an extra blanket from a small closet. I gave a nod of appreciation, not having expected the gesture, and he repeated the motion. Before long, the three of us had all fallen asleep. I'd planned on trying to escape during the night, but I slept so well that I never got the opportunity.

The next morning was when the real work began. Hidan and Kakuzu woke me up bright and early and dragged me back to the same clearing we'd used yesterday, and they got me to spar against each of them.

"We know your moves, but we don't know how or when you use them in a battle," Kakuzu explained gruffly. "We need to know that if you're ever going to work with us on missions."

Since it was clear that I would have no chance against the two of them together, Kakuzu decided I'd go up against Hidan first, telling him that he wasn't allowed to use his "rituals." Hidan whined in an annoyed, childish way, and though I had no clue what they were talking about, he must have listened to Kakuzu, because the older man never stopped him from attacking me.

We sparred for a while, running and jumping all around the clearing. Hidan nicked me with his scythe a few times, drawing blood, and I almost had him once, but in the end I wound up pinned against a tree with a scythe against my neck.

Hidan smirked at me in victory before withdrawing his weapon. I went up against Kakuzu next, who seemed to be even faster than Hidan. Even without using his ropes, it didn't take him five minutes to have me on the ground unable to move.

Kakuzu sighed as he got off of me, extending a hand to help me up. I ignored it and stood up on my own, feeling embarrassed and angry about the whole situation. I'd thought I was at the top of my game, but I still didn't seem to have a chance against either of these guys.

"Alright, we've got a lot of work to do before you're ready to go on any sort of mission." Kakuzu said. He turned to look at Hidan. "Listen, I'm going to be gone for the next few days collecting a bounty. While I'm gone, I expect you two to continue to train. Understood?"

Hidan started whining again. "You can't leave me alone with her! I don't know how the hell to train someone!"

Kakuzu sighed. "You'll figure it out, alright? Just be ready for the mission when I get back."

The three of us went back to the base, and Kakuzu left a few hours later. I was alone with Hidan. Said man was currently leaned back on his bed, looking like he was about to fall asleep.

"Don't even think about trying to fucking run away," he said, opening one eye lazily to look at me.

"What if I do? I doubt you could stop me." I lied. He sat up, looking annoyed. "No, you couldn't. And I think we both know it." He was silent for a moment, turning his eyes to look down at the bed, and then looked back at me. "Tara, I know you're already a criminal. Why are you so dead-set against joining the Akatsuki?"

I blinked, a bit surprised by the change in subject. I don't really know why I decided to answer him. Maybe it was because his voice sounded legitimately interested, or maybe it was just because I was still upset about recent events. "I wanted to join the Path of Light," I muttered, looking away from him. "But they rejected me."

"The Path of Light?" Hidan asked. I nodded, still not meeting his eyes, and he started laughing at me.

I glared at him. "What's so funny?!"

"You're not missing out on anything great," Hidan managed to say once he'd stopped laughing. "Those guys are a bunch of stuck-up pricks, you don't want to be one of them."

I looked away from Hidan again. Maybe they were pretentious, but that didn't mean I hadn't wanted to join them. "Hey," Hidan said softly, bringing my attention back to him. I looked into his eyes. "I know we're not as fucking fancy as the Path of Light, but the Akatsuki isn't so bad. I really think you'd like it here if you'd just give it a chance."

I relaxed slightly. Maybe this strange, shirtless, foul-mouthed man had a point. "Thanks, Hidan," I murmured quietly, not sure if he'd catch it or not.

He laid back down on his bed. "Don't mention it, sweetheart." He rolled over so he was no longer facing me. "Now go to sleep. I'm tired of talking."

I laid down on my makeshift bed, covering myself with the blanket that Hidan had given me the night before, and did as he asked.

For the next two days, Hidan and I continued to spend all of our time (well, except for when we were taking naps) sparring in the clearing. Although it seemed impossible at first, slowly but surely, I started to improve. I became more familiar with Hidan's attacks and better prepared to counter them. And believe it or not, during all this training, we actually started getting to know each other better, too.

One day, when we were taking a water break, I asked a question that had been floating around in the back of my mind for several days. "Hey, Hidan?"

His back was to me, but he responded nonetheless. "Hmm?"

"What does your necklace mean?"

He stopped walking for a moment and turned to face me, expression serious. "It's a symbol of my religion."

"Oh. What religion is that?"

Well, that question got me an hour-long lecture all about the ways of Jashinism. I listened to what Hidan had to say intently, and what most caught my attention was his claim that he was now unable to die.

"Wait, you mean, you're immortal?" I asked him in awe.

"Hell yeah! I should've already been dead about ten times at this point. Look." We were sitting down in the clearing facing each other, and he pulled down the headband around his neck to reveal a band of stitches. My eyes widened in surprise, and he replaced the headband.

"Yeah, that's what happened last time Kakuzu got mad and cut my head off." I looked at him in shock; I thought these two were supposed to be partners! I voiced this concern to Hidan, and he just chuckled. "The Akatsuki may be a family, Tara, but we're definitely a dysfunctional one. Hey, at least he had the decency to sew it back on, after a while."

I smiled at his unconcerned manner. "That's pretty cool," I said after a moment.

Now it was his turn to look surprised. "Ya think so?" I nodded.

"Well, that's goddamn refreshing! Kakuzu's always insulting Jashin and the abilities he has given me. Drives me fucking crazy!"

I laughed lightly, and we sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Finally, Hidan broke eye contact and stood up. "We'd best get back to training," he said, holding a hand out to me.

I accepted it without thinking twice, and we continued to spar.

It wasn't until that night, when Hidan had already fallen asleep and I had no thoughts about running away, that I realized I was starting to like the Akatsuki.

The day after our conversation on religion served as something of a milestone in my training. I finally got in a major hit on Hidan with one of the kunai he'd given me to borrow. The problem was, it was a much bigger hit than I'd intended.

"Shit!" he swore, looking at the deep, winding gash that I'd accidentally given him on his left arm. I stopped immediately, realizing what I'd done. "Crap! Hidan, I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't mean to-"

"Sorry? What are you apologizing for? You just caught me by surprise, is all," he said, walking over to me while his arm dripped blood on the ground. "I'm glad you were able to get me, and I'm sure Kakuzu would be, too." He roughly patted me on the shoulder with his right hand, before looking around as a sudden thought occurred to him. "Only problem is, now I don't have anyone to stitch me up. I usually get Kakuzu to do it..." he said, trailing off.

"I-I could do it for you," I said to him after a moment's hesitation.

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "You know how to fucking give stitches?"

"No," I admitted, shaking my head. "But, I do know how to sew."

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I s'pose that's close enough. Come on, I think I know where Kakuzu keeps the medical shit."

We walked back to the room we shared, Hidan not seeming at all worried that he was dripping blood all over the place. After rustling through the bottom of the closet, he pulled out a box of supplies. The two of us sat down on the stone floor, having nowhere better to go, and I opened the box.

After arguing about whether or not to apply disinfectant to his arm ("Just because you can't die doesn't mean you can't get sick!"), I threaded a surgical needle and got ready to fix Hidan up. Since he'd left his cloak in the room when we went to train, I already had access to his injured arm.

"You sure you're okay with me doing this?" I asked as I placed a hand on the underside of his arm. I looked up into his eyes, and I was close enough to him to notice that they were a beautiful purple color.

He smirked. "It's impossible for you to permanently mess me up, sweetheart. Go ahead."

I nodded, and with that, I started the procedure, doing my best not to hurt Hidan more than was necessary. A few minutes in, I was relieved to see that the part of the gash I'd managed to close up had stopped bleeding so badly, so I continued on with my work.

After about twenty minutes, I was done. "Thanks," Hidan said, grinning at his stitched arm as he moved each of his fingers to make sure everything still worked. "No problem," I replied, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand. Since his arm was still covered in dried blood, I took a cloth from the medical kit, went to the bathroom, and ran it under warm water. When I came back, I kneeled next to Hidan, gently wiping the excess blood off his arm.

He chuckled slightly at my action. "You didn't have to do that, you know. I could have done it myself, I've got another arm."

I sat back on my heels, looking at him. "I know, but I wanted to."

He looked at me with a puzzled expression for a moment, but then shrugged. "Whatever you say, sweetheart."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" I asked him suddenly, cocking my head to the side as I studied his expression. Maybe it was because he'd just placed a lot of trust in me, but for whatever reason, I was starting to feel closer to Hidan, and I wanted to know.

"Huh?"

"I mean, at first I'm pretty sure you were mocking me, but now we're teammates, and you keep calling me that. I was just wondering why."

"I-I don't know," Hidan said after a minute, turning away from me slightly as he scratched the back of his head. "It's just a nickname."

"That's fine, I was just curious. I kind of like it."

He turned back to look at me, seeming surprised. "You do?"

I nodded, giving him a small smile. "Sure, why not?"

His expression turned mischievous. "Then, is it safe to assume you also like me?" he asked, moving a tiny bit closer to me.

"Of course I do, Hidan. You're a cool guy."

He chuckled lightly. "Not exactly what I meant, but you should know," he said, smirk still in place, "that I like you, too. As more than just a teammate."

That was when I finally figured out what he was talking about. I blushed, looking down at my lap to avoid his gaze. Did I feel that way about him, too? Maybe the closeness I'd felt earlier had been more than I would feel for a friend. Maybe my desire to help him had been stronger than what I would normally feel for someone. Maybe, just maybe...

I felt two fingers lift my chin up, breaking me out of my thoughts. My eyes met Hidan's soft purple ones. "So, what do you think?" he asked quietly, his expression turned solemnly serious.

A smile broke out on my face after a moment, and I nodded. "I like you that way too, Hidan."

He smiled slyly and brought his face close to mine. "Good to know," he said, before covering my lips with his own.

The kiss was slow and gentle, not at all what I would have expected from Hidan, but I wasn't complaining. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me, and he put his hands on the floor on either side of my waist. His kiss became more passionate a moment later, and I kissed him back with equal vigor. He put me on his lap to make things easier, and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist while I moved my hands to mess up his hair.

When we finally separated, both of us were gasping for air. After a while of simply looking at each other, I leaned back in to kiss Hidan's cheek and rested my head on his shoulder, wrapping my arms back around his neck. We sat in peace for a split second before being interrupted by a voice from the doorway.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised."

Hidan's arms tightened protectively around me as we both turned to the voice's owner. There was Kakuzu, standing in the doorway with a knowing smirk on his face.

"Oh, h-hi, Kakuzu," I said a bit guiltily, feeling embarrassed that he had seen us. My cheeks turned pink as I hid my face against Hidan's chest. He looked down at me for a moment, then turned his gaze to glare at Kakuzu.

"Great job, old man, you embarrassed her. Give us a few minutes, would ya?" Hidan said, picking up a roll of bandages from the medical box and chucking it at his partner. Kakuzu easily dodged the object. "Fine, fine, you've got two minutes," he said, annoyed. With that, he shut the door.

I lifted my head back up to look at Hidan, who smiled at me lovingly and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I giggled. "What is it?" he asked.

"It amazes me how quickly you can go from caring to angry and back again," I said, smiling at him.

Hidan shrugged and leaned forward to give me a quick peck on the lips. "Only for you, sweetheart."

I hugged him again, enjoying the feeling of being so close to him. "So," he whispered in my ear, "is it safe to assume you're growing to like Akatsuki life?"

I smiled and nodded, leaning back just enough so I could look in his eyes when I answered, "I wouldn't have it any other way."


End file.
